Wastewater treatment creates a large volume of sludge, which has so far been disposed of as soil fertilizers or conditioners due to the presence of valuable nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and other nutrients. However, the other presence of potentially toxic elements (PTE) and other toxic compounds in the sludge limits its use as a fertilizer. In addition, in Germany, for example, the new fertilizer ordinance stipulates that the phosphorus it contains must be recovered. Therefore, sewage sludge management is a serious and problematic problem worldwide. Landfilling is also prohibited in many countries, which is why people seek solution in combustion. Combustion, on the other hand, is energy and cost-intensive, generates huge amounts of CO₂ – and in the end it produces residues that have to be disposed.

A solution can only consist in recovering the valuable elements contained in sewage sludge and removing toxic impurities at the same time: Bioleaching using our microlive® bacterial consortia and the appropriately balanced nutrients ekocomplex® to release potentially toxic elements (PTE), to decompose toxic compounds and to recover valuable elements.

Over the years, bioleaching has been developed as an environmentally friendly and inexpensive technology to remove potentially toxic elements (PTE) from sludge  worldwide. The biological degradation of toxic compounds by microorganisms is also often used for remediation. Compared to conventional methods (chemical, thermal, physical), a biological process is much cheaper and can be used for larger quantities with simple application.

Our different bacterial consortia microlive® can extract a wide variety of potentially toxic elements (PTE), using toxic compounds as food and breaking them down into safe end products. We have registered our technology as an EU patent on ecological release of elements and degradation of organic substances using heterotrophic microorganisms – and this has been proven in over 50 contaminated materials and in several bioremediation projects in the EU.

You may contact us for more information.